This patent application pertains to eyeglasses, and more specifically, pertains to foldable eyeglasses which also function as an article of jewelry. For the most part, eyeglasses comprise a rigid eyeglass frame for holding lenses and resting the frame on the bridge of a wearer's nose. The frame is further secured on the wearer through use of a pair of arms connected at one end to frame with the opposite end resting on the wearer's ears. When not being used, traditional eyeglasses are cumbersome or otherwise inconvenient to store upon the person.
Numerous patents have focused on minimizing the footprint of eyeglasses when the eyeglasses are not in use. Many of these patents disclose various designs for folding the eyeglasses upon itself to minimize space and ease storage. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,496 discloses a pair of eyeglasses having a hinged bridge and telescoping arms. When in an open, extended position, the eyeglasses form a pair of eyeglasses having the traditional structure of a pair of lenses held in a frame where the bridge of the frame rests on the nose of the wearer, and a pair of arms attached to either end of the frame and extending back so as to rest on the wearer's ears. The arms are designed to telescopically extend and retract thereby decreasing there length when in a closed position. The bridge of the frame has a pair of hinges to allow the lenses to collapse into a compact structure with the shortened arms secured between the lenses. Although the eyeglasses collapse into a compact structure when in a closed position, the eyeglasses are not aesthetically amenable to be worn as a piece of jewelry. Moreover, each lens faces outwardly in the closed position and each is likely to become scratched or otherwise damaged when not being worn.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,033,020, and its corresponding international application WO2005/121,871, a collapsible eyewear apparatus is disclosed where, when collapsed, the lenses of the eyewear are protected by the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a set of eyewear having a hinge at the bridge of the frame. The frame also has a pair of earpieces which, when extended rest on the wearer's ears; and, when not extended, rest within a protective unit. The protective unit is attached to the eyewear frame and is hinged to cover the lenses when the apparatus is in its closed position. Although this apparatus protects the lenses when the eyewear is not being used, it does not further function as an article of jewelry or other apparel accessory.
An alternative approach, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,061, is to create a foldable pair of eyeglasses which folds to form a necklace. As disclosed in the '061 patent, the eyeglasses possess a pair of lenses within a frame where the frame has a pivot point located between the lenses permitting eyeglasses to fold along a common longitudinal direction. A chain attaches to each end of the frame permitting the eyeglasses to be worn around the neck. When in use, a wearer holds one side of the opened frame to permit the wearer to look through the lenses. When not in use, the eyeglasses are folded and the compact eyewear is worn about the neck as a necklace. Although much of the bulk of the eyeglasses is eliminated by this system, the folded eyeglasses are limited to use sole as a necklace as the chain is fastened to the eyeglass frame with no other means for securing the folded glasses on the person. A necklace may be appropriate for a female wearer, but not for a male wearer. Moreover, the necklace may interfere with, or be inappropriate for, certain occasions or wearer-desired style. More importantly, the chain is attached to the frame through use of a magnet. However, this design allows the chain to become dislodged from the magnet if the chain or eyeglasses is subjected to a minimal lateral force. Once dislodged, the eyeglasses will fall to the ground and become damaged or destroyed.
Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need for a foldable set of eyeglasses which can be worn as a fashion accessory when not being employed as eyeglasses. This need is fulfilled by the present disclosure comprising a set of eyewear which collapses into a closed position using a central hinge to take on an aesthetically pleasing shape. A magnetic clasp holds the eyewear in the closed position when not in use. The collapsed eyeglasses can be worn as a necklace by means of a detachable chain necklace which is held onto the eyewear through a dovetailed magnetic groove. The dovetailed magnetic groove prevents the chain from becoming accidentally dislodged from the eyeglass frame. The magnet prevents the chain from sliding out of the groove while the dovetail prevents the chain from being pulled free from the frame when subjected to a perpendicularly applied force. Furthermore, attached garment clips further allow the wearer to quickly and easily fasten the collapsed eyewear to his or her personal effects, thereby no longer necessitating the use of a necklace chain.